1. Field Of The Invention:
This invention relates generally to a system and method for previewing movies, music, video tapes, special events, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to such a system and method in which data related to the media to be previewed is transmitted from one or more media companies to a host processing station where the data is formatted, as desired, and then transmitted by the host to remote kiosks for interactive user access.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Technology for dissemination and collection of information has evolved dramatically in recent years, due at least in part to the advent of more powerful and compact computers, and the development of sophisticated software and telecommunications devices. This evolution in the dissemination and collection of information has also affected the way in which goods and services are marketed.
Some companies market their goods and services by using this technology to provide interactive promotional displays. For instance, music stores and video rental stores have implemented point of sale display booths which incorporate CD-ROM devices to store and play segments of video games and/or music as a means of stimulating the interest of consumers in these products, and to enable the consumer to preview the product before a purchase is made. Proposals have also been made to use this technology to enable remote programming of jukeboxes, i.e., new music selections are transmitted electronically from a host computer to remote jukebox terminals, thereby eliminating the necessity of manually changing music selections in the jukeboxes. Governmental agencies have also used this new technology as a means of disseminating information relating to the services and functions of the agencies, and as a means of collecting data from the public.
A wide variety of information is also accessible through various on-line services. For instance, individuals can use telecommunications to access and listen to music selections or to order and download data, including videos, onto their personal computers.
However, the motion picture industry still promotes its films largely through previews of coming attractions played just prior to the showing of the feature film in a theater. Previews or trailers of coming attractions are also played periodically on television, and newspaper and magazine ads are extensively used as a means of stimulating the interest of consumers in the purchase of tickets to view the films. These conventional methods of previewing and/or promoting motion pictures are limited in that they are displayed only in theaters to an audience that is already in attendance at the theater, or to persons viewing television, or are capable of imparting only limited information. Moreover, the consumer has no choice in the selection of previews and other information offered, nor is there any interactive capability.
Similarly, the CD-ROM technology previously utilized for enabling consumers to sample video and music selections has required the prerecording of selected materials onto CDs, which then must be physically placed in the kiosk facility which the consumer uses to access the information. Thus, it is necessary to replace the CD whenever it is desired to update the information being offered. Various on-line systems for sampling of music selections require access to an on-line service. These systems also offer very little opportunity for customizing the information disseminated or collected, and have relatively fixed formats.
Accordingly, there is need for a system and method for disseminating information to the public, and collecting data, by using electronic transmission of the data between a host terminal and remote terminals, so that information contained in the remote terminals can be updated, as desired, without the need for physically visiting the terminals, and so that the information contained in the remote terminals can be accessed by the user through an interactive GUI, without requiring access to an on-line service. Especially desirable is a system and method for enabling motion pictures to be previewed at remote locations and in a way that enables the user to select the films to be previewed and further provides a choice of other information relating to the film, all of which should preferably be available through a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI).